Raymond Walburn Movies
Born in Indiana, Raymond Walburn began his theatrical career in Oakland, California, where his actress mother had relocated. Walburn was 18 when he made his stage debut in MacBeth, for the princely sum of $5 a week; he immediately, albeit inadvertently, established himself as a comic actor when his line "Fillet of a fenny snake" came out as "Fillet of a funny snake." The following year, Walburn was acting in stock in San Francisco, where the old adage "the show must go on" was tested to the utmost when one of his performances was interrupted by the 1906 earthquake (at least, that was his story). In 1911, he made his Broadway bow in Greyhound; it was a flop, as were Walburn's subsequent New York appearances over the next five years. He finally managed to latch onto a hit when he was cast in the long-running Come Out of the Kitchen. Following his World War I service, Walburn hit his stride as a Broadway laughgetter, starring in the original production of George Kelly's The Show Off. After a tentative stab at moviemaking in 1928, Walburn settled in Hollywood full-time in 1934, where his bombastic, lovable-fraud characterizations made him a favorite of such directors as Frank Capra and Preston Sturges. Usually relegated to the supporting-cast ranks, Walburn was given an opportunity to star in Monogram's inexpensive "Henry" series in 1949, an assignment made doubly pleasurable because it gave him the opportunity to work with his lifelong pal Walter Catlett. Retiring after his final screen appearance in The Spoilers (1955), Raymond Walburn revived his Broadway career in 1962 when he was persuaded by producer Harold Prince to play Erronious in A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1936
Despite its title, things get pretty noisy in MGM's Absolute Quiet. Lionel Atwill heads the cast as reclusive financier G. A. Axton, who squirrels himself away at a remote ranch to recuperate from an illness. The only other person at the ranch is Axton's secretary Laura Tait (Irene Hervey), but there's no hanky-panky; Laura is happily (or at least contentedly) married to Barney Tait (Harvey Stephens). Axton's solitude comes to an end when a plane makes a forced landing near his property. The passengers are herded into the ranch house by Jack (Wallace Ford) and Judy (Bernardine Hayes), a pair of inept bandits who'd been holding up the plane when it developed engine trouble. Seeking an opportunity to overpower the crooks are unemployed actor Gregory Bengard (Louis Hayward), crooked governor Pruden (Raymond Walburn) and newspaper reporter Chubby Rudd (Stuart Erwin). It soon develops that the passengers -- and Laura -- have more to fear from the mysterious G. A. Axton than they do from the gun-wielding Jack and Judy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lionel Atwill, Irene Hervey, (more)
- 1946
Brothers Henry and Wayne Cooper (Grant Withers and William Haade) have a mission to help their younger, shyer sister, Geraldine Jane Withers, who has just received a large inheritance from their mother. It was their dying mother's request that the brother's find a suitable suitor for their younger sister. Geraldine, however, rejects all the men they bring courting, including her current beau Willy Briggs Jimmy Lydon. They must chase her as she flies to London, trying to keep her out of harm's way as she lives up her new-found freedom to the hilt. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Carleton
- 1944
An unofficial remake of the 1935 Alice Faye-George Raft vehicle Every Night at Eight, And the Angels Sing stars Dorothy Lamour as Nancy Angel, unofficial leader of a struggling, Andrews-like singing sister act. Nancy is in love with saxophone player Happy Morgan (Fred MacMurray), self-appointed "protector" of the Angel Sisters. Unfortunately -- and as it turns out, unharmoniously -- Nancy's sister Bobby (Betty Hutton is also ga-ga over Happy, but he barely acknowledges her existence. Meanwhile, the third Angel sister, Josie (Diana Lynn), stands on the sidelines and cracks wise. Before a happy ending can be realized, virtually every person in the cast goes through an extended period of poverty, which at one juncture forces Happy to form a singing-waiter act with his longtime crony Fuzzy Johnson (Eddie Foy Jr.. Although the film's title song is (surprisingly) never performed, And the Angels Sing is otherwise a smorgasbord of typical 1940s tunes, with Betty Hutton taking front and center with her inimitable "scat" renditions. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dorothy Lamour, Fred MacMurray, (more)
- 1941
Universal's "Baby Sandy" series officially ended with Sandy Gets Her Man, but the infant star still had one picture left on her contract, so that's why Bachelor Daddy was born. Edward Everett Horton, Donald Woods, and Raymond Walburn carry the burden of the plot as the Smith Brothers, Joseph, Edward and George. Confirmed bachelors, the Smiths are forced to play nursemaid when a baby is accidentally abandoned at their doorstep. The laughs arise from the brothers' bumbling efforts at parenthood, culminating in a slapsticky finale wherein the runaway Baby Sandy takes charge of a hand-operated elevator. Ironically, one of the minor players in Bachelor Daddy is teenager Juanita Quigley, who once enjoyed brief stardom at Universal as "Baby Jane". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Baby Sandy, Edward Everett Horton, (more)
- 1938
The titular battle is the one that noisily rages between American legionnaires Big Ben Wheeler (Victor McLaglen) and Chesty Webb (Brian Donlevy). While attending a convention in New York, the two friendly enemies are ordered by their boss Homer C. Bundy (Raymond Walburn) to break up the romance between Bundy's son Jack (Robert Kellard) and showgirl Marjorie Clark (Lynn Bari). In the course of their merry misadventures along the Great White Way, our heroes get mixed up with nightclub entertainer Linda Lee (Louise Hovick, aka Gypsy Rose Lee). When their boss shows up, he is immediately smitten by Linda and forgets all about his son's "scandalous" affair. It ain't art, but it's fun. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Victor McLaglen, Brian Donlevy, (more)
- 1936
A never-completed stage musical was the source for the MGM superproduction Born to Dance. The plot is another three-sailors-on-leave affair, with Ted (James Stewart), Mush (Buddy Ebsen) and Gunny (Sid Silvers, who also co-wrote the script) romancing the eminently romanceable Nora (Eleanor Powell), Peppy (Frances Langford) and Jenny (Una Merkel). Nora aspires to become a dancing star, but her career nearly ends before it begins when she inadvertently comes between Broadway luminary Lucy James (Virginia Bruce) and her producer-lover McKay (Alan Dinehart). If anyone watching back in 1936 really cared about the plot, they probably weren't music lovers. The lovely Cole Porter score (his first written directly for the screen) includes "I've Got You Under My Skin", sung by Virginia Bruce to James Stewart, and "Easy to Love", warbled by Stewart to Eleanor Powell. Highlights include Reginald Gardiner's impersonation of a symphony-conducting traffic cop (a routine he'd previously performed on stage) and Eleanor Powell's climactic tap routine on board an art-deco battleship (a sequence later re-deployed for the climax of 1944's I Dood It). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eleanor Powell, James Stewart, (more)
- 1946
Breakfast in Hollywood was loosely based on the ABC radio program of the same name. Tom Breneman, the series' host, appears as himself in a contrived story about a radio personality attempting to smooth the path of true love for heroine Dorothy (Bonita Granville) and hero Ken (Edward Ryan); he also helps the wife (Billie Burke) of a philanderer (Raymond Walburn) and assists a charity-minded matron (Beulah Bondi). The plot can be forgotten, and in fact is forgotten as a parade of guest stars-Andy Russell, The King Cole Trio, Spike Jones et. al.-do their specialties. Columnist Hedda Hopper also makes a brief appearance. After years in obscurity, Breakfast in Hollywood resurfaced in the mid-1970s when it was first offered on the 8-millimeter home movie market. In England, where the original radio series was unknown, the film was retitled The Mad Hatter (evidently a reference to Hedda Hopper's bizarre headgear!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Breneman, Bonita Granville, (more)
- 1937
Framed by the fast-paced world of horse racing, this romance centers upon the wealthy young owner of a racing stable who falls in love with a beautiful singer who has just been given Galaxy, a promising young horse, by one of her beaus. Galaxy is accompanied by a trainer, who is also in love with the girl. Later all three get tangled up with crooked bookies and trouble follows. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Gargan, Binnie Barnes, (more)
Just after completing It Happened One Night, director Frank Capra churned out a bread-and-butter picture titled Broadway Bill. Warner Baxter plays the carefree scion of a wealthy, highly-respected family. Baxter's cold but socially correct wife Helen Vinson forces her husband into the family business, but Baxter would rather spend his time at the racetrack. He buys a nag named Broadway Bill and tries to build the horse into a winner--if he doesn't bankrupt himself first. Only Baxter's sister-in-law Myrna Loy and black stable hand Clarence Muse have faith in Broadway Bill. The horse wins a crucial race, but dies suddenly at the finish line. Baxter is comforted and given encouragement by Loy, who is now his sweetheart, Vinson having long since washed her hands of her "irresponsible" husband. Broadway Bill was remade by Capra as Riding High (1950), utilizing generous portions of stock footage and even going so far as to rehire several of the original film's cast members (Douglass Dumbrille, Clarence Muse, Charles Lane, Raymond Walburn, Margaret Hamilton, Frankie Darro) to recreate their roles and match up their scenes from the earlier production. Long withheld from distribution due to Riding High, Broadway Bill was made available for videocassette in the mid-1980s. Keep an eye out for Lucille Ball as a blonde telephone operator and Alan Hale Sr. as a racetrack announcer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Warner Baxter, Myrna Loy, (more)
- 1937
This third entry in MGM's "Broadway Melody" series may not have been the biggest or best, but thanks to a masterpiece of casting it is one of the most memorable of the batch. Signed by MGM in 1935, 15-year-old Judy Garland made her first feature-film appearance under the aegis of Leo the Lion, immediately capturing the hearts of moviegoers everywhere by singing "You Made Me Love You" to a photograph of Clark Gable (a sequence that has since been excerpted countless times in TV and movie documentaries). She later shares a song-and-dance number with gangly Buddy Ebsen, making an impressive entrance in a white midget car (Ebsen would later be cast as the Tin Man in Judy's The Wizard of Oz, only to be replaced by Jack Haley when he fell ill during shooting). The presence of Garland, coupled with several superlative dance solos by Eleanor Powell and a spectacular musical finale, tends to make one forget about the plot, which has something to do with a racehorse owned by heroine Sally Lee (Powell). The horse wins the Grand Steeplechase, the prize money is poured into the stage production previously bankrolled by Steve Raleigh (Robert Taylor), and the Show Goes On. Movies fans of the 1930s with long memories were gratified to see such old vaudeville favorites as Sophie Tucker and Willie Howard in the cast, even if their material wasn't quite up to standard. Interestingly, one of the best comic turns is performed by "professional sneezer" Robert Wildhack -- leaving another famed movie sneezer, Billy Gilbert, with virtually nothing to do! On the other hand, Robert Benchley is his usual droll self, managing to score a comic bullseye despite all the lavish and noisy competition around him. Broadway Melody of 1938 was followed by a 1940 sequel, distinguished by the "challenge dance" between returnee Eleanor Powell and Fred Astaire. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Taylor, Eleanor Powell, (more)
- 1940
This modest Preston Sturges comedy stars Dick Powell as an office clerk dreaming of better things and Ellen Drew as his more pragmatic girlfriend. Powell convinces himself that his fortune will be made if he can win a slogan contest sponsored by a coffee company. Powell's contribution: "If you can't sleep at night, it isn't the coffee, it's the bunk!" Three of Powell's fellow workers decide to have some fun with him; they fake a telegram which announces that he's won the contest. The deception snowballs to the point that even the head of the coffee firm (Raymond Walburn) labors under the misapprehension that Powell has won. When the painful truth is revealed, Powell finds himself broke (because of all the creature comforts he's bought) and jobless, but at least he's retained the love of his wife. A cute deus ex machina to the story appears in the person of William Demarest, the foreman of the "jury" that is judging the slogan contest. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dick Powell, Ellen Drew, (more)
- 1941
Don Ameche, an American news bureau chief stationed in London, is frustrated by the British government's censorship of his wildly speculative dispatches to the United States. Joan Bennett is the government Teletype operator assigned to make sure that Ameche doesn't send out any story that hasn't been cleared. At first adversarial towards each other, Ameche and Bennet fall in love while huddled in various bomb shelters during the 1940 London blitz. Clearly inspired by Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent (40), Confirm or Deny was one of many "preparedness" films turned out by Hollywood in the months just prior to Pearl Harbor. Any political proselytizing, however, takes second place to the Don Ameche/Joan Bennett love story. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don Ameche, Joan Bennett, (more)
- 1936
After several light comedy roles, Rosalind Russell proved her salt as a dramatic film actress in this 1936 adaptation of George Kelly's Pulitzer Prize-winning play Craig's Wife. Russell plays Harriet Craig, whose obsession with keeping her house and its furnishings spotless has driven away most of her friends. Harriet's husband Walter (John Boles) loves her and will not brook any criticism of her fastidiousness. But even he has a breaking point: this comes when, during a moment of dire crisis, she reveals that she is more concerned with her own well-being than her husband's. Walter declares his independence by smoking a cigarette in Harriet's spotless living room, strewing his ashes all over her nice clean rug, smashing one of her precious vases, and walking out on her. The final image is of Harriet Craig standing alone in her "perfect" house, so benumbed by events that she fails to notice that her armful of roses is leaving a path of petals on her hitherto unsullied floor. Previously filmed in 1928, Craig's Wife was remade in 1950 with Joan Crawford as Harriet Craig. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rosalind Russell, John Boles, (more)
- 1935
Two of Hollywood's duller actors, Conrad Nagel and Florence Rice, star in this overly complicated melodrama from Columbia Pictures. The latter plays Evelyn Vail, a nurse convicted of poisoning a patient. Out on parole, Evelyn decides to fly to Sing-Sing and confront death row inmate Carl Peters, the man who accused her of the deed in the first place. On board the airliner, Evelyn makes the acquaintance of John Robinson Gordon (Nagel), who is transporting a revolutionary munitions formula to Washington, D.C. Another passenger, Baker (Robert Allen), complains of having been poisoned and leaves the plane during a stopover in Dallas. Back in the air, Gordon's bodyguard, Lieutenant O'Brien (Fred Kelsey), suffers the same fate, but this time the poison proves fatal. The plane returns to Dallas, where Police Captain Barrie (William B. Davidson) accused poor Evelyn of the crime. Happily, Gordon can prove otherwise and the real culprit is unmasked. Back in Sing-Sing, Peters has made a last-minute confession and Evelyn is cleared of all charges. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Conrad Nagel, Florence Rice, (more)
- 1943
According to this exuberant Paramount musical, famed pre-Civil War minstrel performer Daniel Decatur Emmett looked and sounded exactly like Bing Crosby! Very loosely based on the real Emmett's life and career, the film is essentially an excuse for an unending stream of Southern-fried ballads and boisterous blackface production numbers. The best scenes involve Emmet's creation of the minstrel tradition, helped along by Billy De Wolfe as the original "Mr. Bones." As Emmet's sweetheart Millie Cook, Dorothy Lamour has less to do than fourth-billed Marjorie Reynolds as Jean Mason, the physically challenged girl whom Emmet ultimately marries. In the midst of several old-time musical numbers, Bing Crosby introduces one of his lasting hits, "Sunday, Monday and Always". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour, (more)
- 1943
Lois Andrews, best known in 1943 as the ex-wife of comedian Georgie Jessel, plays the title character in this cinemadaptation of Joseph P. McEvoy's popular comic strip Dixie Dugan. Swept up in the war effort, Dixie gets a job as secretary to government official Roger Hudson (James Ellison). Though Roger pursues her romantically, Dixie remains faithful to her defense-plant-worker fiancee Matt Hogan (Eddie Foy Jr.) Both Roger and Matt believe that a woman's place is in the home, but Dixie proves that their chauvinism is out of place during the National Emergency. Lois Andrews' inexperience is modified somewhat by the assured performances of Charlotte Greenwood and Charlie Ruggles as Dixie's parents. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Ellison, Charlotte Greenwood, (more)
Anita's (Loretta Young) life seems to be progressing nicely. She's engaged to Don Barnes (Broderick Crawford), a wealthy man that will give her all the stability and comfort a woman could desire. But then she meets a magician with the unlikely name of The Great Arturo (David Niven), who performs a singular feat of magic -- he sweeps her off her feet. Promptly dropping Barnes, she weds Arturo and travels the globe as his assistant. After some time, however, the magic begins to wear off and Anita longs for a simpler life, perhaps on a quite farmhouse in the country. She's also a bit put out by Arturo's flirting with other women, but what really worries her are the dangerous stunts he has added to his repertoire. Realizing it is time for her to do something, she pulls a little magic of her own and disappear, forcing Artuto to set off on a lively chase to find her. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Loretta Young, David Niven, (more)
- 1951
Excuse My Dust is one of the few Red Skelton musicals in which Skelton is not obliged to share screen space with the likes of Eleanor Powell, Esther Williams or Fernando Lamas. Set in 1900, the film stars Red as zany inventor Joe Belden. Enchanted by the new-fangled horseless carriages, Belden vows to become the Henry Ford of his small community. The climax finds Joe competing in a cross-country auto race for a $5000 prize. Though light on slapstick, this closing sequences scores on the nostalgic value of the several genuine vintage autos pressed into service. Sally Forrest co-stars as Skelton's sweetheart, while MacDonald Carey plays his obnoxious rival. The songs for the most part are well-integrated into the story, save for one anachronistically modern production number (explained away as a "dream sequence" wherein Skelton imagines what life will be like in 1950!). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Red Skelton, Sally Forrest, (more)
- 1950
In this comedy, a local citizen, miffed by the mayor's new milk tax, buys his own cow. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1951
In this entry in the "Henry Latham" series, set during WW II, an independent young woman takes control of a flying school after the owner is called for military duty. She is assisted by her father, his friend, and the mayor who were all fliers during WW I. They all have a rip-roarin' time until a bank robber hijacks the mayor's plane with the mayor in it. Trouble ensues when the plane runs out of gas and crashes. The police capture the crooks. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Raymond Walburn, Walter Catlett, (more)
- 1950
In this entry in the "Henry Latham" comedy series, the parsimonious Henry protests the rising cost of meat and decides to take up hunting for wild game. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1940
A tough, bitter fugitive's travels lead him to a grungy rundown oil town. There the transient is taken in by an oil-rigger who gives him a job working a well. They must work double-quick for the well's lease is due to expire. Unfortunately, they become so focused on striking oil quickly, they forget about safety and several men are hurt. Meanwhile the kindly crew boss and the fugitive vie for the affections of a life-hardened woman until tragedy strikes the supervisor. Suddenly the fugitive must take on the responsibility of reaching the oil. In so doing, he makes some important decisions about taking responsibility for his actions as well. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Garfield, Frances Farmer, (more)
- 1938
En route to America, Irish immigrant Arleen Whelan is the victim of shipboard masher Raymond Walburn. Pushed away by the girl, Walburn is slightly injured, whereupon he brings up charges against Whelan and holds up her entry visa at Ellis Island. War correspondent Don Ameche comes to the rescue, but Whelan's problems are far from over thanks to her involvement with another immigrant, gangster Gilbert Roland. Gateway represents perhaps the best screen opportunity for 20th Century-Fox starlet Arleen Whelan, who faded from prominence in the 1940s. Other than that, the film is an intriguing glimpse of immigration procedures in the prewar years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don Ameche, Arleen Whelan, (more)
- 1951
Golden Girl is the life story (sort of) of legendary 19th-century American entertainer Lotta Crabtree. The daughter of a luckless gambler (James Barton), young Lotta (Mitzi Gaynor) supports herself and her dad by singing and dancing in mining camps during the California Gold Rush of 1849. She carries on her activities into Indian territory, where she saves her scalp by winning over her Native American audiences. During the Civil War, Lotta falls in love with a dashing Confederate spy (Dale Robertson), with whom she is briefly reunited in San Francisco before his inevitable demise. The finale is one of those "smiling through the tears" contrivances that always worked so well in musical films. Golden Girl was produced for 20th Century-Fox by entertainer George Jessel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mitzi Gaynor, Dale Robertson, (more)
- 1944
It took nerve for writer/director Preston Sturges to lampoon the whole concept of hero worship in the middle of World War II, but once more Sturges' oddball sense of taste and propriety paid off at the box office in Hail the Conquering Hero. Eddie Bracken plays the son of a World War I Marine hero who is the first in his small town to sign up for military service. When Bracken is discharged from the Marines for hay fever, he hasn't the nerve to go home and tell his mother and the rest of the townsfolk. Fortunately, he is befriended by a bunch of good-hearted Marines, led by sergeant William Demarest. Bracken's new buddies decide to help him save face by accompanying him to his home and telling one and all that Bracken has served valiantly in the Pacific. Lauded as a hero thanks to this subterfuge, the hapless Bracken finds himself being coerced into running for mayor! When he finally does confess the truth, the townspeople decide that only a real hero would own up to his lies in public. As always, Preston Sturges' richly varied supporting cast makes the most of every scene they're in, especially Raymond Walburn as a blustering politico and Franklin Pangborn as a persnickety councilman. Special mention must be made of Ella Raines as a refreshingly non-cliched heroine, and ex-boxer Freddie Steele as a morose Marine with a Mother complex. While Eddie Bracken's nerdish mannerisms can wear on the viewer, he is kept marvelously in check throughout Hail the Conquering Hero. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eddie Bracken, Ella Raines, (more)
